INDIANAPOLIS – Graduate student guard
Indeya Sanders hit a triple at the buzzer in triple overtime and the University of Denver women's basketball team hit a few big time shots from beyond the arc in the fourth overtime to carry the Pioneers to a dramatic 100-94 win over Butler on Friday night at Historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Inside The Box Score:
Uju Ezeudu led the Pioneers with 23 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and four blocks for the ninth double-double of her career.
Cheyenne Forney, who had just five points at the end of regulation, exploded for 14 in the four overtimes to finish in double figures for the first time in her career with 19 points, 10 rebounds, a block and a steal.
Anna Jackson played a game-high and career-high 58 minutes, finishing with 17 points and four rebounds. Sanders had 16 points, including the clutch three-pointer, to go with seven rebounds and 10 assists for the fourth double-double of her career.
Makayla Minett rounded out the double figure scorers for Denver with 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks.
First Quarter:
Ezeudu had a hand in all seven Denver baskets in the opening 10 minutes, going 4-for-4 from the field and adding three assists in an 11-point quarter for the Denver junior. The Reynoldsburg, Ohio, native hit Denver's first two threes, and had four rebounds and a block in the first quarter. Denver shot 50% from the field in the quarter, but Butler held a 19-18 lead after the opening stanza.
Second Quarter:
Denver continued to get the ball in the paint to start the second quarter with four different Pioneers finishing inside the paint to retake the lead at 26-24 at the under-5 media timeout.
The Pioneers pushed their lead to six points by halftime at 37-31. Denver shot 50% or better for the second-consecutive quarter, finishing the 10 minutes 8-for-13 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line. Ezeudu had six more points in the quarter to extend her first-half total to 17.
Meghan Boyd added another five for the Pios, including the team's lone triple of the quarter. Forney had four points and three rebounds off the bench.
Both teams took care of the basketball in the first half, combining for just eight turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. Denver had a 15-14 rebounding advantage and a 9-4 edge in bench points.
Third Quarter
Denver got its lead out to seven at 44-37 before an 8-0 run from the Bulldogs out of the third-quarter media timeout got the Bulldogs back in-front at 45-44. A pair of free-throws from Boyd stopped the run and got Denver back in-front, her sixth and seventh points of the evening. The two teams traded buckets the rest of the quarter and the Pioneers took a two-point lead into the final 10 minutes.
Anna Jackson had her first six points of the evening in the quarter, but the Pioneers shot just 5-of-17 from the field and 1-of-8 from three to open the door to get the Bulldogs back in the game.
Fourth Quarter:
A Jackson triple off a feed from Sanders started the scoring in the fourth to get Denver's lead back to five in the opening minute of the quarter. Boyd hit a jumper to make it 57-50, but a Bulldogs triple and a pair of free-throws cut the Pioneers lead back down to two at 57-55 with 5:42 to play. An Ezeudu bucket for a season-high 22 points got the lead to 59-55 at the fourth-quarter media timeout (4:11).
Denver had a three-point lead with 16 seconds to go thanks to a free-throw from Forney. After a Butler jumper, Sanders split a pair from the line before she needed to make a good-hard foul in transition to prevent an easy lay-in on the other end. Celena Taborn connected on both free-throws for the Bulldogs to send the game to its first of four overtimes.
First Overtime:
Jackson hit the first big shot for the Pioneers in the first overtime, a three-pointer to make it 67-67 with 2:40 to play. Butler extended the lead to four with 1:02 to play, but back-to-back buckets from Forney, including a lay-in with nine seconds to play knotted the score up at 71-71 to send it to a second overtime.
Second Overtime:
Neither team led by more than two in the second overtime, and it was again a Forney put-back that tied the game up at 77-77 to put another five minutes on the clock at Hinkle.
Third Overtime:
Butler got the first point of the third overtime, two minutes in, but a bucket from Minett gave Denver the lead at 79-78 with 2:19 to play. A pair of free-throws and a lay-up gave the Bulldogs a three-point lead with 1:25 to go. The two teams traded a pair of free-throws each to make it 84-81 with 17 seconds to go. Forney hit a lay-up with six seconds to go to cut it to one and the Pioneers played the foul game. Zoe Jackson hit a pair for the Bulldogs, setting up a game-tying three from Sanders. The Denver guard raced the ball down the floor, and the Bulldogs closed off the other options, so Sanders stepped back and hit a high-arching shot from a couple feet beyond the arc to tie it at 86-86 and send the Pioneers into their first four-overtime game in the program's Division I history.
Fourth Overtime:
Jackson hit a three to open the scoring in the fourth overtime, and following a Butler bucket on the other end,
Tess Santos hit one from beyond the arc to give Denver a four-point lead for the first time in the overtimes. Sydney Jaynes and Forney traded baskets, and then Forney got another bucket on Denver's next possession to make it 96-90 with 98 seconds to go. Taborn cut it back to four 21 seconds later before Forney's number was called again, and she connected, getting her 18
th and 19
th points with 47 seconds to go. The Pioneers made a pair of free-throws down the stretch to close out the six-point win.
Notes:
- Uju Ezeudu finished in double figures for the fifth-straight game, the ninth time this season and the 43rd time in her career.
- Ezeudu finished in double figures in rebounds for the third time this season and the 12th time in her career.
- Ezeudu recorded a double-double for the second time this season (season opener vs. Missouri S&T) and the ninth time in her career.
- Ezeudu finished with 5+ assists for the second-straight game and the third time in her career.
- Indeya Sanders finished in double figures for the third time this season and the 23rd time in her career.
- Sanders finished with 5+ assists for the fifth time this season and the 27th time in her career.
- Sanders finished with a double-double for the fourth-time in her career
- Anna Jackson finished in double figures for the second-straight game, the fifth time this season and the 16th time in her career.
- Cheyenne Forney had the first double-double of her career on Friday.
- Forney finished in double figures in points and rebounds for the first time in her career.
- Makayla Minett finished in double figures for the second-straight game and the third time in her career.
- Friday night marked Denver's first overtime game since an 86-79 win vs. North Dakota on February 5, 2021.
- Friday also marked Denver's first triple overtime game since a 74-71 win at South Alabama on February 23, 2006.
- The triple OT game was the first in NCAA women's basketball this season.
- Friday marked Denver's first four overtime game in the program's Division I history.
What's Next:
Denver will close out non-conference play on Sunday when the Pioneers head to Purdue. Tip is set for 2 p.m. ET/12 p.m. MT.
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